Singer-songwriter, Melissa Crabtree plays her combination of Folk,Americana, and Country laced with themes of nature with special guest Jane Karras 7pm Saturday, October 20, 2012 in the barn at the Farm.

Mari and Melissa trained and ski raced together in their early days. We are thrilled to welcome her back to Vermont as our guest and look forward to her sharing her music with our community.

Come early to meet the piglets, goats and turkeys, press some cider and enjoy a farm fresh harvest supper.

titled “The Day I Fell in the Water.” Crabtree lives two lives, one as a wilderness guide and the other as a working musician. At this intersection of nature and music, she conjures songs like a contemporary female Woody Guthrie – songs that amuse, inspire and entertain. Whether she’s guiding a raft through the Grand Canyon or writing songs about the majesty of the American West,

Crabtree’s heartfelt love for the natural world transports her listeners to the wild places she knows best. “My songs are a record of my life which flow through me while I am living outside in the wilderness and on the water,” she comments.

Crabtree herself has shared the stage with leading performers such as Joan Osborne, Ani Difranco, Patty Larkin, David Wilcox, and Tony Furtado. In performance, she delivers her poignant stories in a distinctly husky alto with a pleasing twang on her guitar. Smooth and delicate harmonies present her lyrics about life, relationships and politics between Crabtree and the rivers, ancient canyon walls, and the oceans.

After having received numerous awards (Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, and Kerrville Folk Festival) and completing many successful tours in the last decade, Melissa has given us a truly beautiful gift with “The Day I Fell in the Water.”

On “The Day I Fell in the Water,” songs such as “Spirit Mountain” and “Daisies Talk” paint an honest picture of the muses Crabtree finds in the natural world. However it’s not just her storytelling that’s impressive; Crabtree has a way of incorporating a message into her songs that are both unique and exalting. The song “Bees” is complemented by the fluttering sounds of a mandolin while Crabtree addresses issues of wildlife conservation that she observes. Then there are songs like “The Day I Fell In the Water” and “Water Canyon,” which deal with how the natural world has shaped her personal growth, delving more into matters of the heart. Her combination of Folk, Americana, and Country laced with themes of nature is both classic and refreshing—a genuine window into the soul of a talented songwriter.

“The Day I Fell In the Water” is packed with talented performers, including Kris Delmhorst, Tony Furtado, Eliza Gilkyson, Libby Kirkpatrick, Julie Wolf, and Andre Moran. The album was mixed and mastered by Mark Hallman (Carole King, Eliza Gilkyson, Will Sexton) at Congress House in Austin, TX.